Vogue Williams’ guide to summery garden furniture

My coats have officially been suction bagged which means that it’s spring in my world anyway. Yes, I am absolutely freezing but I am refusing to get the much-needed coats back out. I’m now focusing my efforts on the garden, I have been busy finding some great pieces to enhance or completely overhaul your garden and mine.

Garden furniture

For the last two years, I have been threatening to change our garden furniture but it’s a big expense and ours is still very much functional. We live in a block of apartments and our neighbour’s is a lot nicer than ours so, naturally I want in – I’m jealous of their chairs! I actually found the exact set my neighbour has and I am so tempted to get the sofa version. The set is from Oka which you can get online but they also have a gorgeous shop near my house that I wander around wanting everything. I love the cream colour with the light wood, it feels very French chic. My ideal sofa set would be from Suns Lifestyle but they are at the very top end price-wise – I have seen them in real life and the quality is brilliant. If you want something more affordable I would go with Easy Living or JYSK, they have some seriously stylish pieces at the moment.

Cushions and rugs

I wrote about gardens last year and if you want to update your garden without spending a fortune, a great way to do this is with outdoor cushions or a beautiful outdoor rug. I always try not to buy the things I find when I write this column but I caved and bought one of the Dunelm rugs for where the kids play. I remember I got my first outdoor rug years ago and it lasted me four years. A great tip is to power hose them before storing them for the winter, they will be spotless. The best power washer on the market in my opinion is the Kärcher one, it’s almost time to force my husband onto the balcony in his wellies armed with the power hose. Also, balcony storage boxes are a must for me, they can fit all of your cushions in through the winter months if you don’t have a shed.

Tableware

I can’t wait to spend some time at home with the kids this summer, I plan on lots of BBQs and chilling out with my pals as long as the Irish weather gets on board. I have so many gorgeous table settings from LNH edit but I always want some of the new things they have. It’s a really stunning brand and the linens they use are long-lasting and luxurious. I need to purchase the pink striped napkins as soon as possible. I don’t think you need indoor and outdoor table settings so these soft colours would work for any occasion. Dunnes always have an amazing collection of bowls and plates with really bright designs so when I’m home, I am going in to stock up.

Lighting and planters

The last thing on my list in the garden at home to sort is lighting and planters. I am in no way a gardener, I’m good at picking some cool planters but I leave the rest to someone else. I love these pieces from April & The Bear and I plan to fill them with plants that need zero help from me. If you are going for lighting and have an outdoor electricity supply, then definitely go for electrical lights but otherwise fear not, the solar ones are pretty good too. I love these ones that I got from Woodies last year and have yet to put them up. They have a great selection online but much like Ikea, I could spend an afternoon walking around Woodies completely delighted with myself.

Outdoor saunas and ice baths

One thing I treated myself to this year was a small outdoor sauna for the garden. I am completely obsessed with saunas and I bought mine from Garden House 24 which is an Irish company. I actually spotted them on Instagram because they make those amazing outdoor rooms that can be used as gyms or home offices. I don’t need one of them but they are really cool too. I also did get a Lumi ice bath – I’m sorry I’ve become one of those people – I feel like I have my own wellness centre in my garden now!

We may earn a commission if you buy something from any affiliate links on our site.